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From: svoboda@spock.cig.mot.com (David Svoboda)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: Re: BMW Boxer?
Date: 11 Jan 1995 02:05:09 GMT
Organization: Cellular Infrastructure Group, Motorola
Lines: 112
Message-ID: <3evecl$n50@delphinium.cig.mot.com>
References: <3eleh8$45a@ns.us.net>
NNTP-Posting-Host: spock.rtsg.mot.com
In article <3eleh8$45a@ns.us.net>, Bob Stoll wrote:
| OK, call me a neophyte if you will, but would someone please explain to me what
|a BMW "Boxer" is? Thanks.
Some time ago, Kieth Gawlik asked the same question, and I answered thus:
=========================================================================
In article ,
Keith Michael Gawlik wrote:
|This is a rather silly question.
Nonsense. No question steeped in such historical significance could
possibly be "silly".
|Why are BMW air-cooled engines called "boxers"?
Well, you see, the name comes from the fact that all BMW bikes (with the
exception of that current abomination) use shaft-drive for turning the
rear-wheel.
How does a shaft-drive imply the name "boxer", you ask? Well, the VERY
first shaft-drive bike was of course the Spagthorpe Boxer, an
experimental design of the earlier years of the company. And that
motorcycle has quite the history, quite the history.
The best theory of the time said that if you were to use longitudinal
crankshafts (the Spag models of that time were all opposed-triples, so
had two cranks) with a shaft-drive turning in the same direction, the
motorcycle would be wheelie-unstable. That is, under strong application
of counter-steering, along with the requisite roll-on throttle, would
produce an uncontrollably violent wheelie. (The theory is quite
complicated; suffice to say that the waffle-cone had not yet been invented.)
Well, Lord Julian and his trusty engineers knew a seductive challenge when
they saw one, and rose to the occasion. They invented the wheelie bar, but
not like the ones we have now for drag-racers. No, their wheelie bar
consisted of a bicycle wheel mounted to the back of the bike, barely
touching the ground, such that when a wheelie occurred and the bicycle wheel
was pushed upward against a spring, it would pull in the clutch
proportionally, thereby smoothly keeping wheelie-equalibrium. (This
design was so unquestionably effective that you still see it in
automotive testing grounds to this day.) This wheelie-stopper system was
necessary because such a system could respond with super-human speed, to
counteract the incredibly instant loops that would otherwise inescapably
result.
So, the Spagthorpe Experimental Model 105nSD was created. First ride was
on the secret Scroddum-Srattche Proving Grounds. The engine was started,
and with a staccatto bark the machine took off. First turn, the pilot
applied a strong counter-steer, rolled on the throttle....and crashed.
The pilot didn't have a clear picture of what happened, or a clear picture
of much of anything. He was bruised and bleeding, but only in the
facial area. Hmmm. They replayed it on their slow-motion moving-picture
device the next day. It seems that the wheelie device worked admirably
except for a little feedback oscillation problem; the front wheel popped
up, and just before it looped, the clutch disengaged and it lowered back
down. Unfortunately, the pilot couldn't quite get out of the way of the
rising instrument cluster, so recieved a solid thwack, right in the face.
Of course, he was still holding the throttle open, and the
countersteering force, so as soon as the clutch re-engaged, WHAP, and
again, WHAP, and WHAP and WHAP WHAP WHAP! Faster than the eye could see,
the pilot was beat about the head and face until unconscious, and then
lost control and crashed.
Coincidentally at that point, the Spagthorpe Testriding Union went on
strike. So, Lord Julian, still needing to test his concept, went to the
local college and recruited the toughest young men they had to offer:
their amateur fighting club. On them, the facial bruises and lacerations
were not even a concern, and Lord Julian was able to soon find the
correct feedback settings, finish the research, and from that time forward,
in honor of the valient college men who came through in a pinch, the
Spagthorpe Experimental Model 105nSD was called the Spagthorpe Boxer.
A supercharged version of the Boxer showed up for much touted race on
a quaint little island just offshore, but unfortunately the entire race
bike and equipment wagon was stolen just before the race started. The
culprit was never found. Lord Julian doggedly put the entire ugly
incident behind him and went on to his next project; the famous
Spagthorpe Rottweiler.
Incidentally, rumor has it that one of the striking test riders was at
that time dating a young woman, a lovely German girl by the name of
Mercedes (last name was lost to history). Now, I certainly would never
want to accuse a fine company of anything untoward, but coincidentally a
few years after the unfortunate Incident on the Isle, an upstart company
in Germany began manufacuring their own version of the "Boxer", except
they carefully limited the engine output and frame design, such that it
was absolutely impossible to countersteer, thus eliminating the danger of
wheelies, and relegating acceleration and turning performance to somewhat
lackluster proportions in the process. To this day these design
compromises have made all shaft-driven motorcycles impervious to
countersteering or wheelies, and has radically limited the performance of
these cycles, even though the compromise is completely unnecessary with
transeversely mounted engines. It's a gray-area in motorcycle design,
you see, and no modern company will do such testing, as they do not have
the committment, determination, or sheer gall of Lord Julian Spagthorpe.
So, I hope that sufficiently answered your question about "Boxers".
========================================================================
I am still looking to do the Spagthorpe Owners Group T-shirts. Just
yesterday I finally got my mitts on some good artwork, and this weekend
I will give a try at finding a printer to make them for me. I hope there
is still interest in another museum fund-raiser.
Dave Svoboda (svoboda@cig.mot.com) | I think God's got a sick
90 Concours 1000 (Mmmmmmmmmm!) | sense of humor, and when
84 RZ 350 (Ring Ding) (Woops!) | I die, I expect to find
78 CB400T Hawk (Baby Honda) | Him laughing...
83 IT 490 (The Beast) |
AMA 583905 DoD #0330 COG 939 (Chicago) | - Depeche Mode